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06 July 2018

The helper is pictured on a ledge outside a top-floor flat in Kornhill Gardens. (Pictures from Rochen Monte's Facebook page)

By The SUN

The flat is said to be on the a 23rd or 24th floor

A Facebook post showing pictures of a woman, apparently a
foreign domestic worker, cleaning windows from outside a high-rise flat in
Quarry Bay has gone viral after being posted by a Filipina helper on Jul 6.

Rochen Monte told The SUN that she didn’t know the domestic
worker personally, and was not sure if she was Filipino or Indonesian, but she
would see her cleaning the outside parts of windows of a flat in block 3, KornhillGardens.

Monte said the helper was cleaning from a flat on either the
23rd or the 24th floor of the KornhillGardens,
but she was sure it was in block 3 as the building was directly opposite
theirs.

FDH contracts have stipulated since January last year that
no outside cleaning of windows by helpers is allowed.

Under the Schedule of Accommodations and Domestic Duties on
page 3 of the contract, it is said: “When requiring the Helper to clean the
outside of any window which is not located on the ground level or adjacent to a
balcony (on which it must be reasonably safe for the Helper to work) or common
corridor (“exterior window cleaning”) the exterior window cleaning must be
performed under the following conditions:—(i) the window being cleaned is
fitted with a grille which is locked or secured in a manner that prevents the
grille being opened; and(ii) no part of the Helper’s body
extends beyond the window ledge except the arms.”
In other words,employers will not be able to make domestic workers clean the
outside of the windows unless the residential house is on the ground floor or
next to a balcony or corridorwherein the domestic worker can stand safely. If
the flat is on a higher floor, the window must belocked with a secured,
possiblycrisscrossed or parallel, iron bars that allow no part of the body to
be extended outside the window except the arms.

The Philippine government had pushed for the exclusion in
late 2016, in the wake of a rash of incidents involving Filipino maids who were
killed after falling from a height. In the latest such incident, 35-year-old
Rinalyn Dulluog died after falling from a LohasPark
high rise on Aug. 9, 2016.

But despite the ban, some employers appear to continue to
flout the law. In one such case, a Filipina domestic worker was pictured
clinging precariously to a wall while cleaning windows from outside a RepulseBay flat on Apr 29 last year, at the
height of a super typhoon.

Fearing repercussions after her picture went viral on
Facebook, the employer terminated their contract. M.R. Sta. Cruz, 37, promptly filed
a case for illegal termination against her employer, and ended up settling it
for more than $50,000.

According to the Mission
for Migrant Workers, FDWs who are told to clean windows in violation of the
provision “can politely explain to (their) employer the new clause on window
cleaning for their enlightenment.” If the employers insist, they should be told
that they could face consequences for violating an express provision in the
employment contract.

“It might also help if you ask the authorities for advice on
how to handle and make the employer abide by the contract. If the employer
still insists and threatens you with termination of contract, you can file a
complaint at the Labour Relations Division (LRD) of the Labour Department. LRDs
have areas covered and you can find it in their website or call their hotline:
2717-1771,” said the Mission.

Alternatively, the worker can call the Mission at 2522-8264 for enquiries or
assistance.